Background
Kambe Noromatsu was born in Edo (now Tokyo) about 1700.
Kambe Noromatsu was born in Edo (now Tokyo) about 1700.
Kambe Noromatsu ran a puppet show at the Sendayiiza theater in Edo, using puppets whose heads were flat and with a dark, bluish complexion and vulgar features.
By 1715, his puppet show had died as a stage art but it survived as a parlor art. It is still performed on Sado Island. The Japanese word noroma, meaning "stupid," is said to have derived from his puppets, which were called Noroma puppets.